Spillover Effects of Ports and Logistics Development on Economic Power: Evidence from the Chinese BTH Regions

Ports and logistics development strongly affect the development of regional economies. This paper chooses the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) regions as the study area, and aims to reveal the spillover effects of ports and the contribution of logistics development to the growth of regional economics based on the partial least squares (PLS) and ordinary least squares (OLS). We apply the panel data analysis for the period of 1996 to 2015 through an expanded Cobb-Douglas production function. Four models are established to analyze the influences of the different indicators on the economic development. The results show that the Tianjin Port has a considerably stronger influence on the BTH regions than the Hebei ports, and its spillover effects on the sub-regions are notably stronger. Furthermore, several indicators have a negative effect on one sub-region, while they have a positive effect on the other sub-regions. Finally, we make practical suggestions that will stimulate and coordinate regional economic development.